


Of the Past

by mirroralchemist



Category: My Candy Love
Genre: Gen, Lots of swearing in this, MC has a potty mouth, No pairings - Freeform, POV First Person, but a there's some UST, delicious UST, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-09 06:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11098488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mirroralchemist/pseuds/mirroralchemist
Summary: (A rewrite of an old fic)When Candy discovers the true intentions of Deborah, she wants to do everything in her power to protect her friend. Even if said friend is a bit of a sarcastic jerkface.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hello!
> 
> This is a rewrite of one of the first MCL fics I did waay back when. I was going to upload something new but then something gets mentioned that maybe won't make sense unless I posted this so this came first. There's a lot more going on and split up into a couple more chapters for easier reading. So if you read it on my FFN please read it again. 
> 
> I don't own My Candy Love or the characters, they belong to ChiNoMiko and Beemoov. I only own the characterization of Candy in this (who is named Mir/Ami)
> 
> This fic contains mostly spoilers for the Deborah arc of MCL but I put my own twist on it.

I stared at the girl in front of me for a long while. Mostly because I couldn’t believe what I had just heard from her mouth. I was wondering why I felt so odd around her, but I didn’t imagine it would be this deep. The joke I made months ago about Nathaniel and Castiel fighting as if they were fighting over a girl seemed in bad taste now.

To know that it was just her ploy to cover her own slip up...it angered me.

I really wished I could just put her in her place right now.

There was one question on my mind.

“Why would you tell me this? Surely you know of my friendship with people.” I asked, cautiously.

She smirked at me. I hated that she smirked at me like that.

“Why not? You were curious, I figured I’d grace you with the answer myself instead of you getting it second hand.”

I shook my head at her answer. That can’t be it. She practically used Nathaniel as a scapegoat, since he knew her true intentions then. Letting someone like me, who has a growing affection for him, know wouldn’t fit into her reason of coming back again. My eyes widened as it hit me.

“You don’t think I’m a threat, do you?”

She seemed pleased at my response. Deborah circled around me as if analyzing me. She tsked as she did so.

“It really is a shame you don’t like me.” she noted, “With your smarts and my skills we could be a duo to be reckoned with. Everyone seems to think we should be best friends, Ami.”

“You just want to be friends with me because my father runs a successful promotional company.”

“That has a part of it, yes. But you really do seem like we can get along.”

I bristled at how friendly she was being with me after all this. I wanted her to see that her attempt at a fake friendship is definitely not welcomed here. If I could get away with it, I would have hit her right here and now. She brushed off my open hostility.

“I would be very careful if I were you Mir.” she noted, “It would be a...shame if you got transferred for assault.”

My eyes widened as she left the basement. As soon as I felt she was gone I let out a deep breath. I had no doubts that Deborah would not let me go so easily after this. I knew I had to do something; I couldn’t leave her alone to her own devices. I had to make sure that Castiel didn’t fall into her whims again.

We weren’t “friends”, but I’d like to think we were civil towards one another.

* * *

I knew that standing up to Deborah was going to be hard, but I didn’t think it would be this hard. Not even a day removed from our private conversation in the basement she was already having others against me. From my talks with Melody and Kim, I figured telling the truth of Deborah’s intentions wasn’t going to solve things.

At least not right now.

She had that nice girl, buddy-buddy facade on too strong for anyone to believe what I was saying. Word started to get around with me and my talks. I started to notice the second glances my way. It reminded me too much of my past schools.

I wished Nathaniel was here. Him being near by might have made things a bit more tolerable.

I ended up hiding in the locker room of the gym once I was on my free period. I was trying to think of ways of how to deal with my schoolmates. With how the day was going so far, I wasn’t sure how the rest of the day would go. Everything led to me ultimately not deal with it in a positive way. I let out a sigh in frustration. I didn’t even have a plan but everything was already going so wrong for me.

“Mir?”

I lifted my head at the sound of my nickname. I was surprised that it was Lysander. I smiled softly at his presence. After what’s happened so far, it was very much welcomed. If I could have at least one person on my side, then I would feel infinitely better.

“Oh, hey Lys.”

“What you’re doing in here?”

“Hiding out, you?”

“I left my notebook in the lockers during gym.”

“Again?” I chuckled.

He had the habit of misplacing his notebook, while I ended up finding them.

I watched as he opened one of the lockers and saw the dark green notebook in his hands. He didn’t make an immediate exit. Instead, he sat beside me on the bench. I guess he figured I wasn’t my usual self.

“Why are you hiding out? If it isn’t too much to ask?”

“I’m sure you heard by now what’s going on.” I explained.

“Bits and pieces. I rather hear it from you.”

I let out a small sigh before I started explaining my situation to him. I even repeated the story Deborah gave me in the basement. Hearing this again was making my anger flare up. How could one person have the heart to do this to people? It’s so bad, that even Amber was feeling like better company. I noticed that Lysander was looking at me as I was venting out my frustrations.

Which made me blush in response.

I’m not used to guys staring at me at all.

Especially pretty guys.

“I’m glad you told me. I find it hard to believe that you’re doing what the others are saying.”

My eyes widened in surprise.

“You believe me?”

“I believe you.” he reaffirmed, “You might omit things at times, but you are not a liar Mir.”

Without thinking I grabbed his hands and pressed my forehead to them. I let out a small laugh. Hearing his answer made me smile. I knew it would take more than Lysander believe me to settle the situation, but it was a start.

“Y-you should go home for the day.” he stammered.

It was then I realized our situation. Quickly I moved away to give him some space. The red tint on my face was clear now.

“Sorry...”

“It’s okay, but I’m serious. Go home and rest up. I can see this situation is making you stressed. And I don’t think being stressed would benefit your case. It might be best to talk to Castiel about all of this. He let me know he’s coming back tomorrow.”

I had completely forgotten that Castiel was absent as well.

Lysander had a point. Working myself up so soon about this was letting Deborah getting the best of me. That’s the absolute last thing I want happening. I gave him a quick thanks before setting off to the school gates.

“Mir!”

I turned to see Rosalya running to catch up to me. I wondered what she had wanted with me. Not that her being here wasn’t unwanted. When one tries to skip the rest of the school day, the less who sees the better.

“Where are you going? We still have two periods left.” she asked me.

“Home, I’m not feeling so well.”

“I see. It wouldn’t have anything to do with the murmurs people are saying behind your back?”

The surprised look on my face cemented it for her. I laughed bitterly at it. It was getting worse fast. Sweet Amoris was not letting up on me today, were they? I wanted to leave as soon as possible. Just lay down and wait for tomorrow to come. Rosalya had that look that she wouldn’t be satisfied until I explained everything to her. I wanted to wait until tomorrow, since it might even be solved by then. I think I owed it to her to tell the truth. I told her everything from the basement until now. When I finished, she just looked at me.

I smiled sadly, I knew that look.

“You don’t believe me.

Suddenly, she grabbed my hand. I was so shocked by the action that I didn’t flinch. She fiercely shook her head.

“What? No! I do admit it sounds far-fetched, but I don’t think you’re the type to make up malicious stories. Tell you what, let me do some fact checking and what else I can dig up on her. There’s no reason that a musician is here just to hang out. By the time we meet tomorrow, I’ll definitely have something for you.”

“You don’t need me?”

“Nope, I’m pretty good at this solo. Besides, Lysander is right. You need to go home and rest. As forgetful as he can be at time, when he suggests something it’s highly recommended that you do so.”

“Well...alright. I’ll be on my home then. See you tomorrow Rosa.”

We both smiled at each other before going our separate ways. I ended up walking instead of taking the bus, hoping that the fresh air would clear my mind. When I got home, I noticed it was empty. I guess Aunt Rieka was still at work or something like that. The temptation to call mom was strong, but she would question why I was calling while supposedly still at school. I made a beeline to my room and laid in bed. I must have dozed off after that since the next thing I remember was Aunt Rieka waking me up for dinner. I quickly changed from my school clothes to something more comfortable before heading downstairs.

It seems that my teachers didn’t realize that I skipped class, or Aunt Rieka decided not to mention it.

I pushed my food around, not feeling really hungry. This Deborah situation was really getting to me on a physical level as well.

“Is something the matter Hun?” Aunt Rieka asked.

I was surprised at the question. What exactly could I tell her? I had nothing set in stone just yet so it seemed pointless to explain what was going on at the moment. I placed my fork down to look at her.

“I guess I’m okay. But can I ask you something?”

“It’s not about a boy is it?” she asked me back.

I laughed lightly at the question. It kind of did, but not really? Her asking about boys reminded me of my situation with Nathaniel. I mean I guess there’s mutual affection between the both of us, but nothing has happened. There might be some light flirting, but Nathaniel seemed like the kind of person you have to make sure it doesn’t go too far.

“No it isn’t.” I admitted, “At this point, I kinda wished it was. Someone did something wrong and they know it’s wrong. They have no remorse over it. They are planning to do it again unless I stop them. I tried to warn other people, but they don’t believe me. I’m pretty sure they see me as the bad person here. I don’t know if I should keep going.”

“Do you feel deep inside that what you’re doing is right?”

“Yes, one-hundred percent.” I answered without hesitation.

Aunt Rieka smiled at me. “Your father would be proud to see you like this. He’s always had a strong dedication to right and wrong.” Then she looked at me with a sudden seriousness. The fun loving aunt I’ve known was gone in that moment. This was my mother’s older sister I was looking at.

“If you feel that you absolutely have to do it, then do it with no regrets. You may be ridiculed for it, even hated but the truth will always come out.”

I went over and hugged her. She was right. Her encouragement was something that I needed. I knew that no matter what the outcome was, I had to try.

I was going to stop Deborah.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, I arrived at school with a renewed mindset. Also a new set of clothes. Rosalya had suggested I try out more clothing styles. I can’t keep going around with crop jackets and fingerless gloves forever. I wasn’t sure about the pink color, but I liked how causal the shirt, vest, and legging combo was.

As it turns out, things only got worse since I left early.

Everyone was giving me the weird second glances. Even the people I considered good friends. I ran into Rosalya early in the day and she gave me the information I needed. She got into contact with Deborah’s former bandmate and he told her that her band was in shambles because she thought it was a good idea to date two of the members.

...At the same time…

The guitarist found out and left because of it. But she was able to make him not say anything publicly, as to not ruin her record sales. It suddenly made sense why she was here. She wanted Castiel to be the guitarist and probably use him up until he’s fulfilled her needs. It was just awful timing that she found him again when we were holding that fundraising concert.

This made me even angrier than before. It was just that much more important to stop Deborah before it could happen. It would have been solved quickly if the guy could just come and help out.

But no, it’s been deemed a “high school problem” so I really was on my own with this.

After classes were done for the day, I went to find Deborah. If I could get some physical proof of her confessing her intentions, then I could show it to the others and we can do something about it. I had bought a recorder before heading to school at the suggestion of Peggy. I turned it on before dropping it into my bag. Finding her wasn’t too hard, she was inside an empty classroom.

“Hello Deborah.”

“Mir? It’s quite a surprise seeing you. I had heard from the others you weren’t feeling too well yesterday. I hope you’re quite alright now?”

“Uh...yeah. Loads. Hey, about what we talked about the other day...”

“Thing?” she asked, “I have no idea what you’re talking about Mir. I’ve heard you’ve been spreading quite a few nasty rumors about me.”

Deborah casually strolled up to me, by instinct I moved back. It wasn’t long before I was backed into a wall with Deborah blocking my progress. She stared at me for a long while, making me feel uncomfortable. Being this close, I could just feel her aura.

“I haven’t said a thing about you, other than the truth. I won’t let Castiel be used like a little pawn.”

She frowned at me.

“Mir, I’m so hurt. I know you have feelings for Nathaniel and now you want Kitten too? No wonder you’re so mean to me. I...I just wanted to be your friend. You went too far saying all these mean things about me.”

I opened my mouth to say something, and then closed it. How did she get such a notion like that? In my confusion, I didn’t notice she went into my bag and got out the recorder. I watched in dumb shock as she fake cried into it before stopping it. Then she turned to me giving me such a shit-eating grin. I honestly wanted to punch it off her face.

“You’re adorable when you’re flustered like that Ami, really you are. Shame I don’t swing that way. I’ve dealt with people like you before, so you’ll need to try harder. Though I wonder...what if a certain reporter got a hold of this tape?”

My face paled at her hidden words. If Peggy got a hold of that recording, who knows what would happen. But it wasn’t going to be good, at all. Deborah already started running out of the classroom and I followed after her. You would think since I ran track I would be able to catch up.

But no, I didn’t.

Before I knew it, I had lost track of her. I sighed while sitting at the steps. This day sucks. I ran my hands through my hair. I watched as my blue locks fall off my shoulders in an attempt to cover my face. I had no idea what I was going to do now. I needed to rethink my approach.

“Ami?” I hear a voice say.

I lifted my head up to meet the concerned look on Nathaniel’s face. I could only smile weakly. I didn’t know if I wanted him near me right this moment. But I wasn’t going to push him away either. Maybe I could bounce some ideas off of him.

“Oh...hey...welcome back.”

“You look tired.” he noted.

“I am tired. More tired than you can ever know.”

“Do you want to talk about it? I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

Without any prompting, he took a seat beside me. I squirmed a little at the closeness. I still wasn’t used to any guy, other than Kentin, being so friendly with me. He stayed silent as I gathered my thoughts.

“I’m sure you know by now that Deborah’s back. She...told me everything that happened before I came here.”

Instantly I saw him frown.

“I don’t know what you me-”

“Don’t lie to me.” I interrupted him, “I know why you and Cas don’t like each other. Or rather I know she’s the catalyst between the animosity you two have for one another. So, just hear me out okay.”

“Alright, I’m sorry. I just hoped you didn’t know about that. It wasn’t a time I like to talk about.”

I waved him off, “It’s okay, I know it wasn’t your fault. Anyway, she’s made it clear to me that she intends on using Cas as her new guitarist and taking him away from here. I tried to warn a couple people but they don’t believe me.”

“I can see that,” he said, “it hasn’t escaped me what the others are saying too. But would it be so bad?”

Hearing that, I stood up to stare at him. Shock was clear on my face. I knew he hated Castiel but I didn’t think he would be okay with this. I furiously shook my head. “It would be all kinds of bad. No one deserves to be used like that. It doesn’t matter if you two don’t get along.”

I rubbed the back of my head. I hoped that Nathaniel would understand my viewpoint in this. I hoped his role as student body president would let him care...if only just a little.

“Ami, I have to recommend you rethink this. As someone who’s been through that girl’s whims I don’t think you should keep going.”

Apparently not.

“What?” I asked, “Why? You of all people should be one of the ones backing me up on this. Don’t you want to get justice for what happened with you?”

“That was in the past.” he said flatly, “After that fight, it was terrible. Even Amber was subjected to fights and things like that because of her. I don’t want that to happen again. I don’t want you to go through what I went through.”

I was surprised that even Amber was affected by Deborah’s plots. It would explain why she arguably has the biggest hatred of her.

Nathaniel stood up and placed his hands on my shoulders in some attempt to comfort me. Any other time and I would have welcomed it. But I was getting angrier by the second. I thought he would be better than this. I didn’t let him see my emotions.

“Ami.” he continued, “Listen to me. She has powerful connections and can work people to her whims. She will make the rest of your time here a nightmare if you go through with this. I’m sure this won’t look good on your records if you get transferred again.”

“Wait, how did you know about my records?” I asked him.

“When I was looking for your transfer papers. I don’t know the details, just the reason for the transfer. It’s something I have to do to make sure the forms were correct.” he explained, “That’s not important. I don’t want you to leave over something silly like this. I want to you to stay here with us...with me. So please just give up on this.”

I was silent for a long time. A lot of thoughts were going through my head. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from him. I didn’t think that he wouldn’t support me. My anger and disappointment won out as I slapped his hands away from my shoulders.

“No.”

He looked shocked for a moment, before looking disappointed.

I was too used to the looks now to feel anything for them at the moment.

“No?” he asked.

“No!” I shouted, “I’m not like you! I have to do this! If no one does it, then it just gives her justification that what she’s doing is right. I’m not going to sit by and watch her use people and slander my name as if I’m the bad guy! If you want to run away like a coward, then fine be my guest!”

I started to walk away before Nathaniel grabbed my wrist.

“Ami...please...”

I snatched my hand away and sneered at him. Somehow, my insecurities were coming back up again. I felt alone, like no one was truly there for me. I was slowly going back into the loner front I put up when I transferred schools.

“Don’t.” I said in an even tone, “Just don’t. I thought, for once, I had someone I could rely on. But I guess I was wrong.”

I ran up the stairs, hoping he wouldn’t follow. I needed some space. I was just so angry. I hoped the space would help me calm down a bit. I could take his refusal to be a part of it, but how could he just tell me to give up? I sighed to myself again. I knew that outburst certainly didn’t get us closer.

Maybe once this was all over I’ll apologize for blowing up at him like that.

My thoughts were soon interrupted by some giggling. I carefully made my way towards the source, only to see that Amber and her crew were at one of the open windows with a bucket in her hands. I could hear the sloshing of water from it.

This wasn’t good at all.

I ran over to the group.

“What the hell are you doing!” I shouted.

But I was just moments too late. As soon as I spoke, Amber dumped the contents of the bucket over the window. I heard the liquid hit something. Then I heard a scream.

“Ah! What is this!”

Deborah’s scream.

Fucking hell…

“What’s going on here!” I heard the principal ask.

I looked around and saw that Amber and her group took the situation to leave the scene. Which left me with the emptied bucket. My eyes widened at the look of realization on her face. “It’s not what it looks like!” I immediately defended.

“Enough!” she screamed.

I froze in my spot as Deborah made her way towards us. I would have laughed at how much of a wet dog she looked. But I was pretty sure laughing would implicate I had done this. The look on her face was murderous.

“Ami! Why would you do this to me! I thought we could be friends, but you just keep harassing me!”

“You’ve been harassed my dear?” the principal asked kindly.

Oh Deborah was in full tears now. I was mortified by the scene unfolding in front of me. How could she always be taking sides? Didn’t even ask what I was doing here or getting my side of the story.

“Wha- I’ve never harassed you! You’ve been going around slandering my name!”

“Enough Gallade! I’m truly disappointed in you. You have detention!”

I stood there, frozen. Soon it turned into a hard glare.

Now, I’ve never been one to be hostile towards any school staff. With everything that happened within the past day and even more so the past few minutes...

“That’s bullshit!” I shouted.

I covered my mouth to hide the swear. The damage was already done. The principal looked at me as if I had killed someone.

“Watch your language Miss Gallade.”

“But it is! You’re taking sides in this matter. Not even going to ask me what happened? I’ve never done anything malicious. She’s not even a student here anymore and you’re gonna take her word no questions asked. Nice fucking favoritism going on.”

I only noticed the shocked look on the principal’s face before I left the floor. This situation was not going to get any better anyway, so I might as well left. I never felt an urge to hit something so hard in my life. And I knew if I acted upon them, I might get arrested or expelled. The day couldn’t get any worse. I just needed to get my stuff and leave. I was pretty mentally drained, so I hoped tomorrow I could start fresh.

“Hey, Mir!” shouted a male.

Near the basement was Castiel. I sighed as I made my way towards him. After all that’s happened, I don’t think I wanted to be around anyone. And based on the scowl on his face he didn’t want to talk about good things either.

I hoped that our somewhat mutual respect for one another would let him hear me out.

“You want to explain what the hell you were thinking dumping a bucket of water on Deborah?” he asked.

“That wasn’t me, at all. That was Amber. God Cas, you know me better than that.”

“I’m starting to doubt that. This and spreading rumors about her? I thought you were better than that.” he muttered.

“I’m not spreading rumors, as you put it.” I defended, “I’m trying to help you. Why would she be back now after all this time unless she wanted something? She just wants to use you up because your past with her makes you easy. I know we’re not best friends, but I like you Cas. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

His scowl turned into a glare.

Not his usual glare either, but he was legitimately mad about something.

“And what makes you think you have the right to decide that! I don’t need protecting from you. I especially don’t appreciate you butting into my affairs Gallade. Just stay out of it before you make things worse.”

Oh no, I wasn’t going to let this go now.

“Are you kidding me right now Castiel! So you gonna let that bitch walk all over you? You’re so whipped that you won’t even consider what I’m saying? You changed your clothes for her, so what’s next? You going to be her little ‘Kitten’ again?”

I shook slightly at him banging the lockers right next to me. He looked at me with a pure rage I hadn’t seen on anyone before. Despite the intimidating look, I wasn’t going to back down. I know what I was doing is right. He soon got closer, invading my personal space. I wasn’t used to anyone being in my personal space while I was angry. All my emotions were starting to bubble over.

“S-step back.” I stammered, “You’re too close.”

“Listen good and listen well Gallade.” he spoke, “I won’t let you keep calling her a bitch. I better not see you anywhere near her or myself. For both our sakes.”

I didn’t know what had came over me in the next few moments. Before I could stop myself my fist went flying into Castiel’s face. I scrambled away to gain some breathing room while he backed away holding his nose. I was doubtful that I had done anything serious. My strike wasn’t as focused as it could be if I deliberately wanted to hurt him. I watched with hazy vision as he tried to get his bearings again.

Wait a second, hazy vision?

I couldn’t be…starting to cry?

Oh hell no.

I couldn’t believe the tears were forming over him. I tried to wipe my eyes to hopefully hold them back, but it was only making it worse. I needed to leave, now. No one has ever seen me cry and I was going to keep it that way.

“You’re an asshole Castiel! Do what you please. When she uses you up, we’ll see who’s going to be regretting their actions.”

I ran out of there as fast as I could. I knew I needed to get home, or at least somewhere away from the others. I hoped I could hide away from school for the next couple of days. I made it to my locker, but my tears was not letting me see the lock right. I kept getting it wrong. I banged on the locker in frustration. I had wanted to just leave, but my backpack was in there and I couldn’t leave without it. Crying was inevitable now. It never bothered me so much be alienated from other people.

But this school was finally opening that part of me up.

The part that actually longed to belong somewhere.

I slid to the floor and curled into myself. I hoped that if someone was still here they would just think I took a nap. I could already feel the first few drops stroll down when I heard footsteps approaching me.

“Mir?” I heard Nathaniel.

I lifted my head slightly to notice he was standing just before me. Quickly I covered my head and attempted to turn my back to him. I didn’t want him to see me like this. It made it even worse that it was him to see this weak side to me.

“Go away, just go.”

I heard his footsteps get closer before crouching to my level. I tried to push him away from me. But being so drained, I didn’t really put much of a fight.

“Mir, what’s wrong?”

“Just go!” I shouted while shaking my head.

He didn’t care, no one ever cares. I’m just a transfer student. I’m a nobody. I let out a shudder as a tried to fight a sob coming out. I felt his arms embrace me from behind into a hug. A part of me wanted to fight out of it, but another maybe stronger part wanted to just stay there.

“Ami, just tell me what’s wrong.”

I almost wanted to tell him not to call me by name since I was still pretty pissed off at him.

But the way he said it with such concern, I didn’t want to correct him.

“It’s nothing...Just go back to your duties. You said you didn’t want to get involved anyway.”

He hold got tighter as I let out more whimpers. I felt the light pats on my head, reminding me of my mom when I was younger. She would pat my head just like that when I was sad about something.

“Don’t cry, please? We’ll figure something out.”

“We?” I snorted, “There is no we. You said you didn’t want to get involved with this. I’m used to being alone. I’ve survived this long without anyone.”

I don’t know how it happened, but within moments I was pulled into his chest. I could hear his heart beating a little faster with how close we were. Even if I was still mad, I couldn’t fight the blush from forming on my face. I was stilled by the action. He held on for a long time with no intentions of letting me go anytime soon.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This is my fault. You needed me and left you to face this by yourself. I swear you won’t be alone anymore. I won’t let you.”

I felt his chin on top of my head and that just broke whatever emotional barriers I put up. I sobbed into his chest. I was such a terrible mess while crying. Bless Nathaniel for just taking it and letting me get all my feelings out. He was silent during the entire thing. Only giving me a pat on the head here and there. A few minutes passed and I felt like I could keep myself together now. I returned his hug with one of my own.

“Are you feeling better now?” he asked.

I nodded into his chest. I didn’t trust my voice to work just yet. Nathaniel helped me up and I finally unlocked my locker to get my belongings. I hefted it over my shoulder before looking at him. I wasn’t sure how to speak to him now. He saw a part of me I wanted to keep to myself. Our bond had definitely shifted now. Time would only tell the lasting effects.

“Thank you...I think I needed that. But you sure about what you said? That I’m not alone anymore?”

There was a look behind his golden eyes I couldn’t decipher. He took my hands into his. It was an odd feeling. Not holding his hands. But the fact I was and didn’t feel off about it. He looked at me with a determination that was different than usual.

“I promise. You are not alone.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Mir.”

I heard someone call my name. It had been a couple days since my failed confrontation with Deborah and basically the destruction of what little friendship Castiel and I had. The day after Rosalya told me she had a plan to hopefully expose Deborah and bring her down. We had a meeting that day to plan what needed to be done.

Basically we were going to trick her into giving up her record deal.

I just “needed to stay out of trouble” as Rosalya called it.

“Mir, wait!”

It’s not as if I purposefully get into trouble; it happens to find me.

It was Castiel who called me. He had saw me at my locker and was making his way towards me. He looked alright, other than the slight redness from where I hit him. I was tempted to smirk at my handiwork. But I was pretty sure that could be filed under trouble. So I opted to ignore him instead. If I hurried enough I could find a seat in class far away from him.

“Mir!” he called again.

I started to walk opposite his direction. I wasn’t going to give him my attention. He wanted me to stay away from him and that I shall do. I underestimate his reach as he grabbed my arm and tugged me near the staircase. I met his eyes with a glare. I was better after having just let my emotions go, but he didn’t need to know that.

“What are you doing Mir?” he asked.

“I’m staying away from you.” I answered truthfully, “’I better not catch you around her or myself’. Is that not what you said? I’m pretty sure you made it quite clear there would be consequences if I did.”

His eyes widened at my response. I spoke to him like he was a stranger: monotone and to the point. After what happened the other day, he really was a stranger to me.

“Look, Mir you have to understand. She had put her career before me. If the situation was reversed then I would have done the same. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

I laughed. I laughed hard.

“I’m sorry. But that’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard. You wouldn’t do that. You have a heart and is actually capable of being kind. You’re not the type to do what she’s doing. Listen, I’m just trying to look out for you.”

That seemed to make him silent. I messed with the flower choker I had around my neck. I do feel a little naked without the seashell necklace I usually wore. I had cherished it ever since Castiel gave it to me as an impromptu birthday gift.

“Mir, if you really wanted to look out for my interests then you would stop all this childish shit and let me handle what comes. The chance to play as a professional doesn’t happen often. Lying and doing pranks towards her isn’t helping me at all.”

I lowered my green hoodie to look at him fully. I wanted, no needed, to let him know how serious I was about my stance. He needed to know that for once I was legitimately concerned for him.

“We’re not friends. Like at all. But I had thought we gained enough mutual respect for one another that you could at least look into my words. You’d believe someone who made you suffer before? If you just stop reminiscing about your past relationship with her and really think, you’ll see that this doesn’t make any sense. Why would she just come in now without any notice or contact for who knows how long?”

“Gallade, stop.” he bluntly told me. “You’re seriously starting to piss me off. Since we’re in the mood of questioning motives, tell me, is your vendetta against Deborah your own doing or have our president influenced you?”

I reeled back in shock of his accusation.

So much so I went slack. I opened my mouth to say something, but then immediately closed it. I knew it was no secret that Nathaniel and I were close. But to actually assume that he influenced me in that way? My hands balled into fists. The urge to hit him was strong, but Rosalya’s words about not getting into trouble was playing.

I sighed.

“You honestly think Nathaniel put me up to this? I mean what she did to him is all the more reason why I cannot trust her. But he isn’t the reason. I’m doing this of my own accord. Why are we even having this discussion? You told me to stay away and that’s what I’m trying to do. But you keep pulling me back in. Make up your fucking mind. Does this get you off? Making me feel like shit because everyone alienated me? Should I just turn around so you can twist that knife deeper?”

“If anyone were twisting knives in backs, that would be you Gallade.” he noted.

I threw my hands up in defeat. It was impossible to talk some sense into him at this point. I just had to hope that Rosalya’s plan will work. For now I would just have to not react to Castiel’s harsh words. I turned to give him the sternest glare I could before leaving. I walked a good distance before stopping. I turned around and noticed he was already gone. A small part of me wished he had followed.

Just a little part.

I hope he could understand soon. I knew we really didn’t get along as well as we could. And me being around Nathaniel a lot didn’t help our “friendship” but he didn’t deserve anything bad happening to him.

I wanted to protect the people I care about.

* * *

Classes were a blur as the day went on. My focus seemed elsewhere to really commit to the lessons. It didn’t help that Castiel was in my classes as well. I tried to not focus on him too much and just do my classwork. Our earlier conversation kept in the front of my mind. I had hoped to get a reprieve at lunch.

It turned out to be a blunt reminder of how bad things have gotten.

Deborah was sitting at the lunch table with the other girls. Even Castiel was there.

I froze at how seeing how comfortable Deborah was fitting in with the others. It was like she never left Sweet Amoris. I gripped my lunch tray tightly. The temptation to just tear her away from the others, my friends was strong. But once again, Rosalya’s warning was in my head. With her words and my parents’ warning, I had to be more careful about what I did.

* * *

_She watched as one by one her friends left her home. The meeting to expose Deborah had gone fairly well. The suggestions to murder her aside. She was little apprehensive of the plan, but she believed more in her friends. The meeting made her realize that she truly wasn’t alone. For that she was grateful for._

_“Mir, you sure you’ll be fine?”_

_Mir looked up at Nathaniel, noticing the concern in his voice. Her face turns slightly pink remembering how she broke down in front of him. She hoped that no one would see that side of her. But in all, glad it was him._

_“Yeah, I’ll be alright. Listen, thanks for earlier. I...I really need to let that out.”_

_“It’s not a problem at all Ami.” he spoke, using her real name._

_That seemed to bring more of a blush out of her. She wouldn’t admit it, but she kind of liked how he said her name. It felt more right than having him call her by her nickname. She shook her head from the stray thoughts. It wasn’t the time or place to think that way. Especially towards Nathaniel._

_“I know, but I still wanted to thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”_

_“Tomorrow it is.” he spoke._

_She closed the door and let out a sigh. Ami hoped the day would finally calm down. After having Rosalya comment on her underwear in addition to her crying earlier, she needed a quiet night._

_“Ami dear!” her aunt, Rieka called._

_She walked into the living room and noticed the phone in her aunt’s hands. She wondered who it could be calling. Not many people called her. The only ones who kept a constant call was her parents._

_‘…shit...’_

_“Hello?”_

_“Ami? I’ve received a call from the school today about an incident you were involved in.” Rayburn Gallade, her father, said._

_Ami stiffened into place at the gruff but stern tone her father spoke. Rayburn was usually the more strict one in comparison to Hanako, her mother. To hear his voice first, Ami knew she was in deep trouble now._

_“Dad I can explai-”_

_“That’s enough Ami.” he immediately said, “We left you with Rieka in the hopes that you would behave yourself. You assured me that the last time you wouldn’t get any more calls from the school.”_

_“You can trust me!” she quickly said, “There was these girls that did the water prank. I tried to stop them but the principal didn’t even let me explain what happened.”_

_“So you decided to use profanity instead?”_

_Ami became silent at that. Regardless of what happened with the bucket of water, she did use some language at staff._

_“I was just angry at the situation.” she admitted, “I didn’t mean to say all that out loud. You taught me to stand up for myself when I did nothing wrong. I was doing just that.”_

_Rayburn sighed after a period of silence. Ami knew him sighing wasn’t a good sign. With all that has happened recently, a transfer wasn’t out of the question._

_“Please Father, I’m sorry for what happened. Just don’t transfer me again. I’ve grown to love Sweet Amoris and will do anything to stay here.” she pleaded._

_“Hmm...Rieka told us the same thing. You’ve become more social since going there. That much Rieka and I can agree on. I suppose we can keep the agreement of you staying at Sweet Amoris until you graduate from high school. But, you will apologize for you actions and do whatever punishment they ask of you. With no complaints.”_

_Ami smiled, “Yes sir!”_

_“And no outings for a week. Rieka has agreed to that as well.” he added._

_“Yes of course.”_

_“Ami,” Rayburn noted, “this should be the very last time I need to talk to you about your tendencies. You’ll be graduating soon. Lashing out like that is ill fitting for you. Your mother and I have high expectations of you, do not disappoint us. We do not need another situation like two years ago.”_

_Her eyes widened before lowering. It was a matter of time before he had brought up that situation. Even when everything was cleared, he still held that over her head. Her free hand flexed between being in a fist and loosening._

_“Yes Father. I promise you will not have that happen again.”_

* * *

More than anything, I didn’t want to disappoint my parents, especially Dad. I resigned to the numbness of being cast out from my friends and went out in the courtyard to eat. It was a nice day, so I didn’t mind as much. The fresh air helped me regain my calm attitude. I was going to need it to take down Deborah.

“Mir! Mir!”

Rosalya was calling me. I had wondered what for, we were going to enact the plan after school. I put my tray away before meeting with her.

“Yeah?”

“Why are you out here alone?”

“The honest truth? Seeing Deborah in that lunchroom being so buddy with everyone made me feel sick so I came out here for air.” I admitted.

She gave a quick nod as I lifted my bag over my shoulder. She touched it to stop me from going anywhere.

“Don’t worry Ami.” she said, “Everything will be right again. Trust us.”

My eyes widened at her. Rosalya had never called me by my given name before. Of course everyone knew because the address book and the teachers use my given name. But I always insisted that everyone called me Mir instead. With Mir, I was my own person. I wasn’t defined by my family name. Rosalya must have been really concerned for me if she was using Ami.

“I do Rosa.” I said, using her nickname, “I trust all of you. It’s been a bit hard since I’m not used to people actually having my back. But I know it’ll be fine.”


	4. Chapter 4

This was dumb.

So fucking dumb.

What was I doing running down the hallway? A glance back quickly reminded me why I was running. Deborah was chasing after me. She was chasing me like she was intending to kill me. It was probably an exaggeration, maybe. I didn’t want to stop and find out. This situation was all thanks to Rosalya.

Her jealously over anyone flirting with Leigh had to come right when we had Deborah.

Rosalya should have known when she was looking up information on Deborah. How flirtatious she could be. She even assured me that everything would go to plan. But I can’t fault her. If I had a boyfriend and saw some girl I didn’t like flirting with him, I would be mad too.

I’d be mad if the same girl was flirting with my guy friends.

Anyway, we didn’t get her to confess her intentions for being back in Sweet Amoris but we at least got her to drop her recording contract. She noticed that it was me who was the cause of this plan and started to chase after me. I really shouldn’t be running, I knew how to defend myself if needed be.

But I have a gut feeling if I swung I would get in trouble and get blamed as the instigator.

More trouble was definitely what I don’t need.

_‘When you get her alone, go to the teacher’s lounge.’_

I remember Nathaniel telling me that while I took a small walk while Leigh was tricking Deborah. I had asked why but he didn’t give me an answer. Just to get her there. All said with a smirk. I was surprised by him.

He rarely smirks like that. Polite smiles and grins, but never smirks.

He even had that mischievous glint in his eyes. If I wasn’t so caught off-guard by the demeanor change, I would have thought he looked attractive. Anyway, I could see the door to the room in sight. My hands turned the knob and I was surprised that it was unlocked.

But curse my dumb luck.

If I knew I would be running away from someone, I would have reconsidered wearing heels.

I felt myself stumble on the door threshold, making my ankle bend in an off way. Next thing I knew I had hit the ground hard. I landed right on my hip that held my scar. I let out a sharp hiss in pain with the contact. Even after all this time, that darkened part of my skin still was so sensitive.

I don’t exactly remember how I got the scar. My father told me I had hit a sharp counter corner hard when I was a child.

The pain was so much my eyes were watering from it. I knew I needed to get up. But my body wasn’t going to allow it. Deborah came in once she heard my cries and slowed her walk. She looked as if I was her prey caught in a trap. I tried to glare at her the best I could, but the sharp pains on my side was not letting up.

Deborah could see this too.

“Well, well, well we’re finally alone Gallade.”

I heard the door lock click into place before she took her time strolling towards me. I scooted back as much as I could. Until my back had hit the leg of a table. I was trapped, truly trapped. Who knew what could happen now that there was no one to interrupt. She knelt down and basically sat on my legs, preventing me from moving anymore. In my squirms my hoodie and undershirt had ridden up, revealing part of my scar. Her eyes seem to gleam at finding my weak point. More tingling pain shot through my side as she gripped my hips. Her grin widening as I let out another hiss.

“It’s so fulfilling to see you like this Gallade. Not as strong as you think you are now are you?”

“W-What do you want?” I asked.

“For starters, retribution for that little prank you pulled. You seem to be destined to be a thorn in my side to the very end. But I suppose I should be a little generous, I can always get another contract.”

I laughed at that.

“Are you dumb? I’ve been reading about you. How your sales have dipped since your debut and your label was thinking about dropping you in the first place. Your band can make it without you. You on the other hand have a long road ahead of you.”

Her grin turned into a glare as she gripped my hips even tighter. I couldn’t resist the yell coming out of my mouth in the intense pain. For a brief moment I blacked out because of it all. All too soon Deborah was grinning again.

“You really are adorable Mir. You have such a cute submissive face. Anyway, maybe not now I’ll get a deal. But once Kitten joins back up it’ll be definite.”

“Celebrating a bit too early?” I asked, “He hasn’t even given you an answer.”

It was her turn to laugh.

“You sound as if that makes a difference. Kitten is a man, all I have to do is use my charms to get what I want. He’s such an idiot I won’t need to do much. Just a few flirty eyes and touches and he’s putty in my hands. If I tell him to jump, he’ll ask how high. I tell him to let me be the star, he’ll do so like the obedient puppy he is.”

“And then you’ll just use him up until he can’t be used anymore.”

“You catch on Gallade. My spotlight is not meant to be shared.”

I gritted my teeth in frustration of her true plans.

“That’s disgusting. Cas deserves more than that you bit-ah!”

Her hold on my side had gotten tighter once again. I fought the urge to black out again, only having my eyes water. I couldn’t afford to pass out. Who knows what would happen if I did. She tsked at me.

“I was really hoping you would just let me do what I needed to do. Now, I have to get serious and force you out of my way.”

My eyes widened at the statement. Force? She couldn’t mean physical. I think she did mean physical. She used her free hand to grab me by my hood and brought myself closer to her. I mentally cursed at my moment of weakness. If my body wasn’t filled with so many sensations, I would have at least pushed her off me. The pain was too searing to even do that.

“You’re threatening me with violence? No one would believe that I was the instigator if you did it now.” I noted.

“Not if I hurt myself too. Got to have a little pain to make my goals a reality. Besides, I know you’ve gotten into trouble in the past for fighting and you did punch Kitten the other day. That’s all this gullible school needs to put you away, maybe expel you. I’m everyone’s best friend.”

I sighed in relief as her hand finally left my hips. Her fists were poised to strike me. I couldn’t avoid the first blow, but I would be ready for another if it happened. There was no way I was going to let her just beat me up. If she was going to swing I was going to defend myself.

But the first hit never came.

When I looked at her, all the color drained from her face. Her focus was on the table behind me. I followed her line of sight. It was then I noticed a red light on a machine.

...the school’s intercom.

Our entire conversation was playing all over the school via the PA.

_‘...get her to the teacher’s lounge.’_

Did Nathaniel have the foresight of this happening?

Is that why he wanted me to get her in here?

I would need to thank him the next time I see him.

I used that moment of shock to get away from her and leave the room. My ankle flared up in pain as I put pressure on it, but it was nothing compared to the need to get away from Deborah. I needed to get away, far away. I felt myself collide into a person. I almost tried to move away from them but a strong grip kept me still.

“Kentin?”

I had never felt so relieved to see him before now. I almost buried myself in his arms. I was happy to see a friend. He gave me a once over and noticed my hoodie was still ridden up, showing a hint of my scar. His eyes widened in surprise.

“Are you okay? How do you feel?” he asked.

Only a very few people knew of my scar. Kentin had seen it a few times when we were at our old school. He was the first I think I told about it. And then there was Castiel from when we hung out on the beach earlier in the summer. I gave Kentin a quick nod. If I were to verbally say it he wouldn’t believe me. If he found out what truly went on in there, there was no stopping him from fighting. It took a lot of persuasion from him and Armin to not outright murder Deborah for her actions. We heard the door slam with Deborah walking out. By now, a crowd was forming around us. I straightened up the best I could and locked gazes with her. There was no hiding the unbridled rage in her eyes at me.

“You!”

She didn’t get far before Castiel held her back. He didn’t look pleased at all. Honestly he looked downright pissed. I don’t think I’ve seen him look so angry before. I know sometimes he’d have a look of being annoyed. But this was different. He heard what she said and her intentions. He knew what she really thought of everyone here. Deborah tried to play her words off like a joke, but no one would believe her now.

And then Castiel said the one thing that broke her down.

“It’s time for you to leave Deborah...indefinitely.”

He said it with some malice and contempt even I reeled back from the sting.

I watched as she ran from all of us. I noticed her crying as she left. These weren’t fake tears with the bucket, but she was really crying. I felt a little bad that now she was the one being alienated. Just a little. I looked to Castiel for a moment and noticed he wasn’t completely unscathed in this confrontation. There was a distant look in his stare. I wanted to console him. It’s not easy to be basically humiliated so openly. I took one step forward, which seemed to break him out of his trance. He tried to get closer to me too.

“Cas, I...I-”

Then I stumbled and I saw the ceiling.

Well shit, this was not good at all.

* * *

I noticed I was in the nurse’s office when I woke up. I tried to get up from the cot, but the room started to spin putting me right back down. I laid still for a while. I think I passed out when Deborah left and then nothing. I wasn’t sure how long I laid in the cot until I heard the door open.

“Who’s there?” I asked.

I didn’t get a response, but the footsteps drew closer. The flimsy sheet they used for “privacy” swung open. Once I saw who it was, I frowned. Staring right back at me was Castiel. I wasn’t sure if I welcomed his presence. It felt too soon to see him after what happened.

“You know how to scare the shit out of people.” he mused.

I only sighed before looking away.

“You might as well explained to me what happened.” I said.

Apparently, Deborah grabbed on my scar for far too long. That plus her basically crushing it overloaded my already elevated senses and I blacked out from the intensity. My ankle was fine, just a little swollen from the tumble I took. The principal and nurse put a strict no visitors policy put in since everyone wanted to know what happened from me. Castiel somehow got in because we shared classes and it was under the guise of bringing me notes.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“To apologize. I didn’t mean for things to escalate like it did. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. That’s what I wanted to tell you earlier.”

I managed to sit up without the room making feel like throwing up and just stared at him. Hearing him apologize was new. He really looked sorry for what he said. I looked down at my hands. I should forgive him since he didn’t know. My pettiness told me no, I shouldn’t just forgive him just like that. But he was still dealing with the fallout from Deborah.

Damn my empathetic nature.

“It’s okay, I suppose. I’m sorry that you have to find out about her true nature that way. I really hoped it didn’t come to that. But I think it would be best if we did just keep our distance from each other.”

“I didn’t mean it seriously.” he said.

“It sounded like it.” I spoke, “Your words really hurt my feelings. You thought I was a lying scumbag who betrayed you. You thought I was trying to crush your dreams. We’re not always on the same page and maybe our back and forth gets a little volatile but I would never purposefully do that to you. Since when I have been petty enough to do that?”

“But I’ve known her far longer than I’ve known you.” he noted, “What was I supposed to believe?”

“I thought you would be smart enough to do your own research. Rosa did some fact checking and found out all this stuff about Deborah in one day.” I said, “And you know what makes this worse, you thought Nathaniel put me up to it. Sure he’s one of my dearest friends, but I’m not the type of person who lets her friends walk over her. He actually told me to give up on trying to help you and I called him a coward to his face. I nearly jeopardized my friendship with him for you because you deserve better than that. So you know what? If it makes you feel any better, I forgive you Cas. But go fuck yourself.”

I spoke with such finality in my voice that I hoped it got across that I wanted to drop the discussion. But instead he grabbed my wrist. I glared at him and he glared right back at me. This was familiar territory with us. I was so fed up with his presence I tried to punch him. He grabbed my fist like it was nothing. He soon gave that side smirk that is really attractive, but also pisses you off.

“You know, you telegraph your swings too much.”

If I wasn’t so pissed off, I would have been amazed he picked up on that with a single punch.

“Goddammit Cas, just leave and let me rest.”

“Not until you listen.”

“What is there left to say!” I shouted.

I could already feel my eyes stinging a little. Tears were trying to come down now. I wasn’t going to let it happen. I’m not letting him see my cry. Castiel doesn’t deserve to see what his words did to me.

“I’m serious, we can’t be friends.”

He didn’t separate from me. In actuality he moved from sitting on the chair to the cot itself. His hold on my wrists never broke. He was searching my eyes for something.

“W-what are you doing?” I stammered.

“Do you really feel that way Mir? I want you to look me dead in my face and tell me you hate me. I’m not leaving from this spot until you say it. Because I don’t think you do.”

“Fuck you Cas.”

“Sorry Mir but that’s not really my kink.”

I groaned at his joke, but the problem still stood that he wasn’t going to leave. I wanted to hate him. And if this was me a couple years ago I would have strongly said I hate him to his face.

But I don’t hate him. That was the thing.

One of his hands moved to the back of my neck, somehow taking my hair out of a ponytail in the process. We were brought closer to one another until our foreheads touched. I gulped at how nervous I was being around another guy. I was doing anything I could to just not breathe so rapidly. With how close we were I could take in Castiel’s full face. I noticed his gray eyes were a lot more calm, rather than the annoyance he usually showed. I could smell the faint scent of cigarettes on his person.

“Have you been smoking?” I whispered.

“Maybe...but you’re not answering my question.”

Somehow in the midst of our stare down his body leaned into me and we fell down on the cot together. I suddenly felt under-dressed with just my tank top on. My hoodie was long discarded when I was put into the nurse's office. A feeling began to well up in me. It was something unknown to me. I was by all rights pissed, furious that Castiel was still here. But it all seemed second to this funny feeling. My free hand touched fiddled with his pendant for a little bit before moving to his leather jacket. It wasn’t enough. This feeling needed more. My hands grabbed his hair and brought him even closer. I heard him hiss at my sudden actions. My mind was becoming a haze. Not once had I ever felt this feeling towards him.

Shit did I even want this feeling?

“Mir! Are you awake yet?”

I recognized Rosalya’s voice immediately and apparenlty so did Castiel. We separated from each other like magnets on the same side. What was that? I was afraid to try and find out. Rosalya came in and noticed the two of us in the same area. Her eyebrow rose a bit before looking at Castiel.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

Castiel picked up the notes, that somehow fell on the floor and lightly hit them on my head. I winced a little before grabbing the bundle of papers. I scanned through them quickly and noticed it was not only notes, but the work I missed as well. I looked at the notes again and noticed one thing.

It was in Castiel’s handwriting.

“I was just giving Gallade her work. It’s what I can do and I needed a good deed today.”

Without any prompting he left the room, leaving me with Rosalya. I watched as he left before looking down at my hands. The last few minutes playing over in my head. Remembering every feeling and sensation I had.

My face began to flush with embarrassment.

“I noticed that.” she said while smirking.

“Notice what?”

“That look you have.” she clarified, “I’ve seen it before. You’re attracted to him.”

Wait...what?

“What? Nooo.”

I wasn’t attracted to Castiel. Most definitely not. I don’t think. But if I wasn’t, then that moment wouldn’t have happened. Confusion settled in my brain. I might be attracted to Nathaniel sure, but do I put that same feeling for Castiel?

“I mean, this really isn’t the first time I’ve seen you look at him like that.” she added.

“No Rosa,” I immediately countered, “I don’t look at him any way but normally. Maybe angry and annoyed. But I’m not attracted to him. Even if it was, our interactions kill it on contact.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. People show attraction in different ways. You and him just happens to be this back and forth. It’s pretty cute honestly.”

“Don’t even entertain that thought.” I said, “There’s absolutely nothing between us Rosa. Besides I like Nathaniel, wouldn’t that be betrayal if I started catching feelings for his ‘enemy’?”

Rosalya froze when I spoke. Her eyes glittered as if she found something interesting. Slowly a smile spread on her face.

“So, you like Nathaniel huh? Never pegged him to be your type.”

Wait, shit.

I never told her that I had growing feelings for our student president.

“Rosa no, don’t even think about trying to set me up with him. I just want to keep it between us. I don’t want to jeopardize my friendship with him over something he won’t reciprocate.”

Rosalya tsked at me. But didn’t push the issue further. I let out a small sigh in relief. My mind was still reeling at that moment between Castiel and I. I didn’t need to trouble myself more with romantic advice.

“You should still keep your eyes open Mir, just in case. Anyway, I’m sure you and Castiel talked.”

“We did. He even apologized for being an ass during this entire thing.”

“And?” she asked.

“Well I forgave him. But I told him that we can’t friends.”

“Mir!” she exclaimed.

Rosalya started to look at me with a disappointed look too. I looked back down at my hands to avoid her stare. I guess she wanted an explanation.

“What? You just want everything to go back to how it’s supposed to be Rosa? I know he’s a bit hurt and I forgave him for what he said in anger. But if this is all that it took for him to think of me as a vindictive person, then I don’t want to subject myself to that kind of company. It’s sucks being alienated for something you didn’t do by the people you thought were your friends Rosa.”

Rosalya was the one to sigh at me now.

“Mir Mir Mir, you should be the bigger person.” Rosalya began to explain, “While I don’t advocate his behavior towards you, he did come and apologize. You can’t avoid him since we all share the same class. Besides see it from his point of view a bit. His ex comes back and makes him think she wants to start fresh with him only to find out it’s been a ruse to use his talents for her own personal gain. On top of that the same person admits to the entire school, unintentionally, that he’s been a tool and always has been. The one that was trying to look out for him he shunned and treated like dirt. Realizes he’s wrong and try to make amends but this one person says okay but nah. He’s not skipping out on school or anything like that. The first thing he did is come apologize to that one person. Because it’s the right thing to do. Castiel can be seen as a lot of things, but he does know when to make things right.”

I knew that.

I truly knew that about him. When she had put it that way, it sounded like I was being petty about the entire thing. I was so wrapped up about my feelings that was ignoring his. Of course it was justified given what happened. But that wasn’t me. That wasn’t the true me. I sighed as I got up. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but Rosalya was right. I put on my hoodie while slipping back on my shoes. I had to make this right before I go home for the day.

I didn’t have to search for long, since I found him in a classroom on the main floor of the school. He noticed me as soon as I came in. There was a noticeable silence between us, the incident still fresh.

“Hey, Cas...” I started.

I was soon realizing how hard it was to apologize to him.

“Yeah, Gallade?”

“Erm..” I faltered.

“Listen, if you don’t have anything to say I’ll see you in the morning.”

Dammit, I needed to do it now while I have the clarity.

My instincts got me this far.

I ended up hugging him from behind. If I didn’t have to see his face, then nothing more can happen right? He seemed to stiffen under my embrace before relaxing. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one feeling awkward about this.

“I was inconsiderate of your feelings.” I admitted, “Despite everything you tried to apologize to me and I was being petty about it. Thank you for apologizing. You’re a kind person.”

I felt a larger hand over mines and felt it squeeze mines. At the same time, I felt Cas loosen even more. It didn’t take much to figure out that it was him who touched my hand. I guess we were okay with each other now. We separated not too long after. My face was hot and flushed, but I felt good about this conclusion.

“This whole thing stays between us. So many people assume I like you more than I do and I would like to not give them more fuel to the rumors. People in this school are crazy enough.”

He only seemed to laugh.

“As amusing at it is to try and piss off the president with this, I won’t. Even if that little scene in the office says otherwise.”

I scoffed at the remark.

“Fuck you Cas.”

“You keep that up and one day I’ll take you up on that offer.” he remarked, “Anyway don’t you have detention or something to get to.”

Shit, I forgot about it.

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

“Have fun.”

“You’re a real jerk at times, you now that that Cas?” I asked.

“You might have a point Gallade. But that’s how our friendship works and you wouldn’t want it different.”

As he left, I smiled. He was right. He can be a little blunt and sarcastic, but this was the Castiel I liked being around. I was glad to have this back and forth back. I was glad to have my friend back.

My eyes widened at the thought.

Castiel is my friend.

That, made me happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have finally reached the end. There were a few times I felt I went a little over with some of the actions but I feel good about it. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave kudos or comments if you're so inclined. 
> 
> See ya in the next fic.


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